Exclusive: Water so scarce NSW family buys tank water to wash their hair in basin as dams continue to run dry

Water is so scarce on the farm Emily Henderson grew up on that her family fills the bathroom sink to wash their hair.

The Hendersons have had to buy tank water to keep their farm near Tenterfield, NSW, going during Australia's punishing drought, and getting the most out of every drop has become an economic imperative.

"It's tough in regards to budget. You don't know when the drought is going to break so it's hard to know how much money to spend," Ms Henderson, 21, told nine.com.au.

"Mum manages our property and she has spent $10,000 on water and food for cattle and we're buying in grain.

"Hay is a big thing you can't get hay anymore because it's so scarce. Only far away from places like Western Australia."

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Less than a year later the same dam shed its green surroundings for naked earth and lower water levels. This month, that same dam is just dirt and dust.

Controlling the land

Ms Henderson said the dam was used to provide the bulls on the property with water. The property relies on the Barney Downs creek that has not flowed for 12 months. The family has two other bigger dams on the property, where water levels are also falling dramatically.

"It's very difficult seeing the drought control the land like this," Ms Henderson said.

"Water makes plants grow, so no rainfall means no grass for cattle to eat and even big enough cases like this no water for them to drink. It's even impacted on native trees like pine and gum trees that aren't surviving with the lack of rainfall.

"Day to day it gets harder. Spending thousands on feed for cattle with no income is hard on the bank account for sure. We are feeding cattle everyday. We are losing cattle because there's no feed around so they become weak.

"It just feels like a losing battle with everything around you dying."

The NSW Department of Primary Industries maps show that 54 per cent of the state is drought affected, with 23.3 per cent listed as in drought. More than 17 per cent is listed as suffering intense drought, with 3.6 per cent of the state considered in recovery. Only 1.1 per cent of NSW is considered not to be in drought.

The Hendersons aren't the only ones who've helplessly watched on as the drought stole their water.

The well on Inverell resident Rachel Salmon's property is bone dry for the first time in 100 years.

"We stopped pumping over three months ago as we were getting murky water but now it's completely dry," Ms Salmon wrote in a Facebook post.

Bone dry

Merriwa resident Cassandra McLaren also has firsthand experience of the harsh reality of the drought. The creek on her property has been dry for 18 months. It's the first time this has happened in her 28 years on the land.

"Many dams have dried up long ago. There have been some storms, which have replenished or filled (dams) over the years… it's a lottery whether they have or not," Mrs McLaren told nine.com.au.

"I've never seen it the way it is. My husband's family have been on the land, on the property, and its never dried up."